Ex-deputy gets active sentence of 7 years-plus

SoVaNow.com / June 18, 2014

Former Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s deputy, Christopher Dale Smith, 36, of Skipwith was sentenced June 12 to 20 years in prison — the maximum penalty for the crime he was charged with, felony sexual battery of a child — with 12 years, 6 months of the sentence suspended.

Smith must also pay $453 in court costs, register as a sex offender, and upon his release from prison, he faces 5 years of supervised probation.

In February, Smith entered an Alford plea to a reduced charge of aggravated sexual battery of a juvenile under the age of thirteen. He was initially charged with juvenile rape.

Smith was arrested on Nov. 16, 2012 and indicted on April 15, 2013 after an investigation by the Virginia State Police uncovered evidence to charge him with rape of a minor. The investigation was conducted by Special Agent D.E. Leslie of the Virginia State Police at the request of Mecklenburg County Sheriff Bobby Hawkins, who sought an independent probe in August 2012 after allegations against a then-unnamed deputy first surfaced.

At the time of his arrest, Smith was a four-year veteran of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, serving as a road deputy.

Randy Krantz, Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney, oversaw the case as special prosecutor after Mecklenburg County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nora Miller recused herself due to conflicts.

Smith had been free on a $100,000 bond since his release from the Pamunkey Jail, where he was taken after his arrest in November 2012.